Detective guilty of touting hacking probe information to the News of the World

A senior counterterrorism detective has been convicted of attempting to sell information concerning Scotland Yard’s phone hacking probe to the News of the World.

Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn was warned she could be sent to prison when sentenced later this month.

A jury at Southwark crown court convicted her of one count of misconduct in a public office as she was found to have committed a ‘gross breach’ of the public’s trust.

The 53-year-old phoned the now-defunct tabloid on September 11, 2010, complaining to journalist Tim Wood about coming under pressure from Lord Prescott to step up the probe and named Andy Coulson and Sean Hoare as being under investigation.

Prosecutors said Casburn, from Peverel, Essex, had undermined the hacking investigation.

‘She sought to undermine a highly sensitive and high profile investigation at the point of its launch,’ said Mark Bryant-Heron.

‘It was a gross breach of the trust that the public places in a police officer not to disclose information on a current investigation in an unauthorised way, or to offer to do so in the future for payment.’

Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn attempted to sell information to the News of the World (Picture: File)

Casburn admitted contacting the News of the World but denied asking for money or offering information not already in the public domain.

She was not working on the investigation – Operation Varec – but her colleagues in counterterrorism command were running the operation.

Casburn, who joined the police in 1993, told jurors her colleagues viewed the hacking probe as ‘a bit of fun’ and were mostly concerned with travelling and meeting celebrities.

But Mr Bryant-Heron said she had raised neither of these concerns, or that resources were being wasted, according to an email written by Mr Wood 15 minutes after the call.

She has been released on unconditional bail ahead of sentencing later this month, while Mr Justice Fulford was told she was in the process of adopting a three-year-old child.

‘A real possibility is an immediate custodial sentence, but I’m obviously going to have to consider very carefully the issues that we’ve ventilated this afternoon and any other mitigation,’ the judge said.